Behaviorally Focused Nutrition Education Programs for Children.

Nutrition programs for school-aged children traditionally have two different sets of goals. [1] The first set strives to enhance the child's basic nutrition and food knowledge and to help children select a healthful diet. The second set aims to reduce disease risk by forming health-promoting eating behaviors. Behaviorally focused programs have been somewhat successful in meeting these goals.

Behaviorally focused nutrition education addresses three domains of learning: cognitive, affective and behavioral. [1] Cognitive teaching presents children with the "how" of eating more healthfully -- which foods should be part of a healthful diet and which should be eaten only on occasion. Affective teaching addresses factors that motivate children to change the way they eat. The behavioral component of nutrition education helps children build new eating skills and behaviors.

Successful education programs rely heavily on the behavioral component of learning. [1] Incentives, reinforcement and rewards can be classified as behavioral elements that keep children interested in learning. Other factors found to increase the nutrition knowledge of children …